Walmart Foundation Donates $3 Million to UA Agri Division

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture announced Monday a $3 million donation from the Walmart Foundation.

According to a news release, the donation will go to the Center for Agricultural and Rural Sustainability and will benefit the national strawberry industry.

CARS will create and manage a nationally competitive grants program, awarding money from the donation to land-grant and other public universities with agricultural research and outreach programs with projects that will, among other things, expand where strawberries can be grown, enabling shorter trips for the berries between farm and consumer.

Though prized for their delicate taste and texture, those same qualities can be the berries’ weakness – especially when hauled thousands of miles, the release said. It’s estimated that between the time the berries are picked to the time they reach the consumer, losses can reach 36 percent, with an annual value of $1.14 billion.

“Strawberries are a highly perishable fruit with a short shelf life in the supply chain,” said Curt Rom, a horticulture professor for the Division of Agriculture, and part of the center’s leadership team. “Strawberries travel an average distance up to or exceeding 3,000 miles from farm to market.”

To solve these issues, the center will seek proposals from research and extension teams from colleges and universities across the nation that will expand strawberry production areas, decrease energy use and environmental impacts, and cut product losses. All of these add up to a more sustainable industry.

The U.S. strawberry industry was valued at $2.4 billion in 2011, according to the USDA.

CARS will solicit project proposals through its website at http://strawberry.uark.edu and will award grants in May to coincide with National Strawberry Month.